21 min reading time

Second only to “I need a job,” the most frequent request I get managing this 145,000-member(!) group is, “My company needs distribution.”

Last month I went to HIDA … that’s the Health Industry Distributor’s Association’s annual conference (see http://medgroup.biz/HIDA-2012). I told distributors I met, “Our most popular conversation is a huge list of manufacturers looking for distribution. It has more than 800 comments now. How can I help these members?”

And back came the sobering but enlightening reply.

“We carry thousands of products. For us to consider carrying a new product, it has to have three things. First, it has to be noteworthy. We don’t need more ‘me-too’ products. Second, it needs to come with solid marketing support and training. We can’t expect our reps to know everything about every product we carry. And third, there has to be a healthy margin and reasonable sales volumes in it for us.”

Makes perfect sense to me.

But what to do with the 800+ comments at http://linkd.in/MDG-distribution? We have a serious need and I’m not sure how the group can help.

Your ideas, please on
(a) What distributors had to say; and,
(b) How we can help our members.

A side note: Group member Perry Mykleby http://linkd.in/Mykleby specializes in go-to-market strategies and medical device distribution. Drop him a note and tell him I sent you.

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Hot discussions this week:

What did you see at Medica 2012?
http://linkd.in/see-at-Medica

Is iPad mini the device healthcare providers have been waiting for?
http://linkd.in/iPd-mini

What is the best way to explain the 2.3% medical tax increase that people outside the medical manufacturing industry can understand how it affects them?
http://linkd.in/explain2-3

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Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of Group Founder Chris Taylor’s premature death.

On behalf of his wife Janet and daughter Charlotte, thank you for keeping his legacy alive in this vibrant group. I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead it.

Read about Chris and consider a donation to “Charlotte’s Fund” at

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Happy Thanksgiving to All.

Joe Hage
Medical Devices Group Leader

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SONIA ZHAO
General Manager at Medical Workshop Co.,Ltd.Ｉagree all the comments. Different market has different characteristics. For Chinese market, sometimes the policies can make a big influence, such as whether the product is in the price list published by the government. If it was not in the list, then it could not be sold into hospitals since there was no standards for how much the price should be.

Todd Staples, MBA
Account Representative, GYN at Medtronic
There is little doubt that internationally, distribution strategies that allow for the flexibility of healthcare system differentiation, and cultural norms from one country or region to the next are best suited to the independent distributor model, and it is evident in the fact that even some of the largest med device companies utilize this strategy rather than hiring direct in most international markets with the exception of the US. I have seen several European Med Device companies come to the US, establish an office, and set up a direct sales channel here. Or even better, license the product under an OEM agreement to capture the most market share in this market.

The sales volume expected to drive through each market is always a factor. Managing 5Mil in revenue through a distribution channel is quite easy. Managing 50Mil is something different. I worked with a company recently that was at 28Mil in North America alone and they had 7 regional managers alone just trying to manage and direct the activities of 40 different independent distributors. Challenging to say the least!

The point is no channel or route to market will provide the same share vs opportunity in every market, and each and every single unique market should be evaluated to determine which approach will yield the most fruit and best support the needs of the end customer.

Tom Williams
Chairman & Founder at Strategic Dynamics Inc.
Joanna:

Very cogent comment! My experience with international distributors mirrors yours and in several organizations I was with they were were one of the pillars for our success!

Joanna Wilkie
Project Manager at Terumo Aortic (Formerly Vascutek Ltd)
Hi everyone,

I work for a manufacturer that uses many distributors around the world who are local to their market and have immense knowledge of how these countries / areas work that we couldn’t ever hope to learn. Most of our relationships are long standing and both sides recognise the importance and benefits of these relationships.

As a manufacturer we don’t sit back and expect our products to sell without any input from us. These distributors are our partners and have to be supported. This support can range from training either at our head office or in the distributor’s country, visiting our distributors a few times a year and going on customer visits with them, having a technical team on hand to deal with enquiries via e-mail or phone quickly and efficiently, carrying out competitor analyses to help our distributors argue our products’ case, translating brochures into the local language, to listening to new ideas for additional marketing materials that could work in their region or even globally.

We haven’t always had the size of company or budget to be as supportive as we are now but through nurturing these reciprocal relationships and listening to the feedback on our products and what the various markets are looking for going ahead we have continued to grow despite these tough economic times.

We haven’t always chosen the right partner and have sometimes had to cancel agreements and find new distributors in an area but on the whole it is a method that works for us. I agree that there is no one answer for all products and all companies but when you chose a route you have to do what you can to maximise its potential. Even some of the small things I have listed above are valued by our distributors.

Debra Pollock
🌎 MedCepts Independent Network↔★Top Linked ★ | ✔ 30+ Yrs Healthcare | Medical | Sales & Marketing ★ Recruiter Network
Here is a great resource targeting this discussion: “A Philosophical View from an Independent Medical Sales Rep’s position – Is the Product Hot or Not?” [http://www.medcepts.com/pages/medical-sales-reps.html|leo://plh/http%3A*3*3www%2Emedcepts%2Ecom*3pages*3medical-sales-reps%2Ehtml/5_xb?_t=tracking_disc]

Additionally, reps and distributor members “rate” products offered through the network; peer to peer discussions on products are also encouraged.

Daniel Daetwyler
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at SYNLAB Suisse SA
Thank you for this highly interesting discussion.

Jerry Robinson is right to say it’s time to look at the medical device distribution through a different pair of glasses. There is still way too much focus on pushing commodity items through classical sales organisations, be it direct or through distributors.

From a european perspective I can say that not much has changed in the world of medical device distribution since the invention of the world-wide-web. Granted, nowadays we’ve gotten more efficient in moving goods around and its easier to access information, but the 101 in distribution still looks awfully familiar to one who’s been involved with it since the late 80ies (remember, that’s when fax machines were the ultimate in communication).

In addition, distributors are still clinging to their “natural pattern” which is to hang on to every company they represent and to punish any manufacturer who wants to take a different route. Why not devlop a distribution system where the “divorce” is already part of the “marriage”? Just like product life cycles, there are distribution life cycles. Certain organizations are more potent in getting concepts off the ground. Such organizations should offer the manufacturer various options to walk out, once a critical volume has been reached. They could even offer turn-key-projects to be taken over entirely when certain milestones are met. Manufaturers could group and set up joint operations to get their products up to speed, using synergies along the way.

After having set up and managed several distribution networks throughout Europe, some start-ups, some highly successful, some less and one an outright failure, I’ve come to the conclusion, that most products could be offered bulk to purchasing organizations, either through the internet, with all its commodities, and/or through box-moving agencies which put together a huge catalogue of products and promote those to the purchasing groups. This would mean that big corporations, selling big volume commodity items to hospitals would give up their own sales force and approach the customers much like major insurance brokers do theirs: through independent one-stop-shops, offering it all.

P.S: I just returned from two days at the MEDICA, trying to find some innovative products to sell on the Swiss market. How much real innovation was there? Impossible to tell, most of them drowned in the flood of me2 items…

Don Kloos
Business, Market, and Product Development: Medical Device and Retail Healthcare / Scientific Instruments
Finding a distributor /distribution network is a full time undertaking taking up to about 6 months to start, then it’s an ongoing work to support and grow. I’ve done it.

Most distributors are not interested in me-too compared to unique products, of course, but a strong established brand or product is usually welcome. I’ve worked with big dealers that have 150K+ products and that is very tough and requires a lot of support, even another layer of manufacturers’ reps. This is very ineffective for new innovative products that may have conflict of interest with existing lines. I’d rather go direct than with a big dealer like that for such a product.

There is a real need to hook up distributors with manufacturers as the discussion has shown. I’ve been monitoring the distributor discussion for a few months and have reached out privately to help a number of the bloggers as a service, since I’ve done it many times. Some are interested, but most expect something to just happen for free or very quickly with a success fee….good luck with that! It takes work, experience, and frankly just some good timing.

Stephen Lichtenthal
Director of Sales and Business Development
I agree whole heartedly with Jerry. My company is a high value provider of orthopaedic and spine implants. Our model is to to ship directly to companies, as our implants are truly commodities and should be treated this way. I think distributors play an important role in healthcare for high-tech, complex products. With that said, as a manufacturer, you have to question the status quo. Our implants provide tremendous savings to facilities and that’s because we go direct.

Jerry Robinson
Consulting Designer: mHealth, IoT, Embedded Products, Wireless Commun, Consumer, and Disruptive Innovation Tech.
I work on a PhD in this general area…

One thing I HAVE learned – with repeated examples – is that there is NO ONE SOLUTION… it takes a mix of stuff….

The “hammer rule” also applies. “To a hammer, all the world’s a nail.” and that just isn’t so…..

An example of the hammer rule is that there are many, many things that do not need to be sold via traditional medical channels – and are…. Why, for example, is a blood sugar monitoring device with alarms and wireless tracking so expensive? does it have to be? If you are someone like the FDA, then you MIGHT see that all devices need to be “certified” – even though this really isn’t so.. So they “might not” care that a monitoring devices would cost $10K – thus pushing it out of reach of 99.5% of all humanity. It’s a problem…

My point is that there are many channels that could be utilized for med product sales that have not been used in the past.. and that will dramatically increase product sales – reduce costs – and improve lives worldwide. A lot of products don’t fit this model – but a lot do…. High cost and limited availability cost lives. There is the balance – and it most certainly is dynamic…

It may mean that multiple types of distributors will emerge- – or already have.

Eli Goldstein
CSO, NextSENS Inc.
Are there any noticeable trends in the distributors network of medical devices? Yes, medical devices should be compact and easy to use. We believe that one serious problem is patients’ interference with a device . Then, of course, the cost of the product matters. For example, wireless monitoring medical devices are supposed to be smart, light, wearable and self-powered. If they are cheap, they may be disposable.
So, is this THE trend?

Federico Telmo
MBA | Marketing & Sales | Biotech Industry | Entrepreneurship
Excellent debate, as a director in Micalay Healthcare Solutions, a consulting company focused in helping manufacturers launch their products in the Latin American market. I would add that one of the most important difficulties is managing the relationship between distributors and vendors, sometimes the cultural differences and the different points of view (that others have already noted) create tension and conflict and this prevents the partnership from succeeding.

In our opinion, it’s essential to be able to work as a team, as true partners and not as separate businesses.

I think this group could act as a facilitator in order to help manufacturers and distributors get closer and establish common goals.

If anyone is interested in the opportunities of the Latin American market, you can contact me directly at federico.telmo@micalay.com or visit our site [http://www.micalay.com|leo://plh/http%3A*3*3www%2Emicalay%2Ecom/BA84?_t=tracking_disc]

Grant Senner, MD, DABRM
Chief Executive Officer at Equus Innovations
A solid discussion. The modern healthcare paradigm now makes “healthy margin” and “reasonable sales volumes” materially equivalent to device sales that can be directly linked with robust reimbursement. Most device efforts still do not understand how to inform demonstrations of cost benefit, now vital for technologies that fall under the purvey of public and private payers. With the focus on capitation models and decreasing rates, we are already seeing a reduction in the “arms race” mentality of many medical facilities and associated providers. The net result of these (and other) effects is market stratification and more careful purchasing. Neither bode well for go-to-market strategies which fail to validate the dynamic of the new medical dollar, regardless of the distribution channel(s) available. Broader industry validation that commercialization strategy is now critically linked to medical reimbursement should help companies navigate this sales environment and encourage opportunities for sustainable partnership. The past performance of successful distribution techniques is no longer a predictor of future results.

John Joyce
CEO at International Heart, Inc. CEO at Super Shore, Inc.
The idea of distribution makes sense when the distributor believes that a
product will have a sustained demand in the distributors geographic area
and the manufacturer does not believe that the sales potential will likely
produce profits sufficient to underwrite the costs of a sales hire. When
both parties are cherry picking the list of requirements is lengthy
stopping for the distributor only when the manufacturer virtually
guarantees that customers are waiting, pen poised over a contract for list
price purchase and for the manufacturer when the distributor is the one
holding the hand of the purchasing agent with the pen.

Its almost like a showdown between nations when he who blinks first loses.
The manufacturer believes that he’ll be damned if after all the work and
money spent bringing the wonder widget to market he is going to pay that
sob distributor a piratical commission for just showing up. The distributor
will be damned if he is going to reinvent the wheel and duplicate all the
sales information that the manufacturer has developed as well as become a
technician, installer and service rep.

When the need to make a sale crosses the line of reasons not to make a sale
a manufacturer will find a distributor and vice versa.

Stu Jacover
Vice President of Sales at Hoist Material Handling Inc.
Joe – as a manger at Henry Schein some other key areas for us when considering a new product is GP$. – we are always looking for products we can actually make money on and exclusivity. Another problem with me too products is they are typically available in multiple distribution channels so it really makes it hard to hold GP$ on these products.

Tom Williams
Chairman & Founder at Strategic Dynamics Inc.
Todd:

You make some excellent points and I generally agree with everything that you have said. With the consolidation of hospitals, the continuing evolution of GPOs, IDNs and RPCs, the increasing strength of value analysis committees and the centralization of supply chain management the challenges for new product entry are enormous regardless of the channel type. The end result is that we are going to see longer sales cycles for new product adoption.

Distributors have and will continue to be successful if they evolve with the market. Many distributors categorize their products as “focused and unfocused”. Focused products are those that they actively promote by giving it the majority of their selling time. This is usually new innovative technology. Unfocused products are those that they take orders for or mention when the need arises. In my experience the major distributors have a robust CRM system, great understanding of the buy-sell process, excellent knowledge and rapport with their customer base, a better than average sales organization and contracts with all of the major buying groups.

In the end manufacturers that are looking for distribution need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each channel type along with the availability of each type in their market space and country. If an organization wants total control then going direct is the answer. For most start-ups this is not a viable option unless they have investment capital.

I welcome continued dialogue and insight! Hopefully this exchange is useful to the group.

Todd Staples, MBA
Account Representative, GYN at Medtronic
Tom,
I agree with the solid approach you take – educated and experienced channel sales management professionals have used this criteria (or some rendition of it) for some time now to match up distributors to technology as it becomes available. Having worked in Direct and Indirect sales channels for more than a decade (short compared to many others I know) I still see many inherent defects in the channel options available today based on the needs of some emerging tech manufacturers. As more large companies are finding the need to thin their sales forces and at the same time adapt their remaining direct hires to the evolving selling environment seen in healthcare, the indirect channels are increasingly absorbing the overflow and this is partly why we see distributors in many cases with hundreds of products, making it difficult for them to truly say they are a partner.

To add to that, large distributors in some cases manage sales teams the same way a direct hire manufacturer would, but in many other cases distributors employ independent agents and training, accountability, sales process, and professional development are all out the window in that scenario so outcome or results delivered by the channel are going to be anyone’s guess.

To make it worse a manufacturer is generally forced to repeat this process (of screening, checking references, and then training, after which the collective management holds their breath and waits for the first order to come in) over and over again in every market they wish to sell into, which in the US alone would be anywhere from 20 to 40 or more distributor relationships to follow, all without any real CRM input either. It is a lot of work for any manufacturer, especially those working with minimal staff and no travel budget and the risk is palpable.

My hope is that through these discussions innovative changes will emerge and the channel will evolve as all of healthcare is evolving. Sustainability isn’t just a fancy corporate word, we should all be practicing it daily. Great discussion!

Tom Williams
Chairman & Founder at Strategic Dynamics Inc.
Hi Joe:

Please allow me to add a few points to this excellent discussion. There is no easy answer to this question because we don’t have all the facts. For example will the channel partner be required to stock inventory, purchase demo equipment, carry receivables, handle product service etc?

Generally when a manufacturer is looking for distribution they believe that they have a unique and differentiated product that is priced appropriately. Because they are looking for distribution what they are really saying is that they have ruled out an OEM arrangement and they cannot afford to go direct so they need to consider a general distributor, specialty distributors or manufacturers reps.

At a minimum, manufacturers with new product entrants need the following from a channel partner:
 Selling time
 Market coverage
 An ability and willingness to grasp and sell innovative technology and not wait and take orders
 Demonstrated competency in selling new innovative technology in all territories and not just in a few (if a distributor). This is reflected by purchase volume, frequency and history.
 A partnership that is bi-lateral

Channel partners want:
 Patent protected technology
 Product differentiation so they can sell a solution
 Proof of the market opportunity: size dollars etc.
 Proven clinical and financial value
 Exclusivity for a long enough period of time that they can recoup their investment and make some money.
 Marketing support and training so that they can ramp-up quickly and be successful.
 Ample gross margin or commission

Before anyone can recommend a channel partner type much more information is required. We have done this for years, especially with respiratory products, and would be willing to discuss our approach with interested parties.

Michael Gorman
Product Specialists.
Bravo Zulu Todd. Well said.

Todd Staples, MBA
Account Representative, GYN at Medtronic
Well Joe I think the comment I read on the list so far that stood out for me was Jerry Robinson’s comment that “TOO MANY great ideas get hung up on the traditional sales marketing channels and ideas. You can not rely solely on traditional schemes – and this matters a lot… ”

The comments your distributor made in your opening monologue are typical of all that is wrong with this sales channel in my view. Allow me to go through them one by one.
While you read these try to put yourself in the shoes of a manufacturer who is looking at how he is going to approach the market and his end user customers…..

Distributor: “We carry thousands of products. For us to consider carrying a new product, it has to have three things. First, it has to be noteworthy.”

Manufacturer: Wow That is alot of products to distract your reps….I wish I could find a group that just carried a handful of products so they could focus on mine more and do it justice!

Distributor: “Second, it needs to come with solid marketing support and training. We can’t expect our reps to know everything about every product we carry.”

Manufacturer: Marketing support with literature sounds fine, but I would love to have a team that can actually sell solutions and understand how my product does that – We have spent alot of time developing an innovative solution to a complex need so we want a PARTNER that can carry those solutions to customers. It sounds like this distributor is looking for “me too” commodities despite their first point that they didn’t.

Distributor: “And third, there has to be a healthy margin and reasonable sales volumes in it for us.”

Manufacturer: After just telling me all the things you AREN’T willing to deliver, now you say you need top dollar in exchange? I am getting the feeling this is more about the distributor than it is about the products, solutions, customers, or advancing medical care. When do we get to talk about what you can offer ME since I will be providing you with a means to make a living?

****************************************************************************************
What is truly needed is the reciprocal of all those things you listed Joe. We need a sales channel that can provide a technical sales team that handles a small number of innovative emerging technology products. We need a channel partner that trains, tracks, supports, and yes even markets many of the products they carry in a true partnership with the companies they choose to work with, placing the partnership with industry and the advancement of emerging technologies at the fore in their business plan. This sales channel I am describing works for commission only, so discussions around margin are not important, only market opportunity is important. A due diligence process will reveal the true opportunity prior to partnering. This new type of channel is coming, and it will leave the commodities to the existing distributors when it does.

If you have a product coming to market soon that has significant first year opportunity and a national team of specialized, focused, trained and armed to deliver individuals is what you need, reach out to me and let’s talk.

John Joyce
CEO at International Heart, Inc. CEO at Super Shore, Inc.
Vector marketing may have promise when used to identify “medical” needs that contribute to patient well being but are companion to diagnosis and treatment but fall outside any prescription requirement, Such products and services may be sold directly to the customer/patient directly and will be enhanced by the persuasive techniques( clever adverts, rebates and especially personal service) emasculated by group purchasing and sealed bids. Distributors who go that route can expect to grow by virtue of word of mouth and reputation and thereby perhaps influence a return of personal choice to the conventional medical market place which is racing toward bureaucratic logjam.

Domenico Cauglia
Area Sales Manager at EMS Electro Medical Systems SA
Hi Joe,
well, this is new to me,.. that Distributors say, they do not want the product…

Normally, it is me, when representing a manufacturer, that is not interested working with a Distributor selling too much product lines. They normally come to me and proudly say, “Hey, you must be interested in me, WE distribute more than XY companies in exclusive”.
But this does not impress me…
What I want is Distributors, that are DEDICATED to the product, where the sales reps KNOW the product,… and not have a look into the catalogue, whether they sell this product, look up the page and say to the doc: “Yes, I can offer that product, we have it in the catalogue. Have no idea about it, but the price is.. “.
On the other side, Distributors sit always in between two chairs.. if they do too well, they will be replaced by the manufacturer going direct, on the other side, if they do not well, same… going direct, as the manufacturer thinks, he can do better or being replaced. So Distributors often prefer to do so lah lah….

‘I don’t believe, that there is a “best strategy”,.. it all depends on the product,..
Most often, I think, companies should start with experienced consultants,.. they are relatively cheap, eventually little fix cost, mostly on commission, and then develop further from the initial entry into the market…

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Yes, Darren, pointing people in the right direction. I have the skill but not the bandwidth to help the manufacturers so I’m hoping to identify companies and members like Perry focused on marketing, sales, and strategy.

Perhaps there’s a way to go through that intimidatingly long list and offer help. Pairing members with opportunity is, at its heart, what the group is about. I’m just here to facilitate.

Darren Stenlake
Technical Director Sysmex UK Ltd & Chairman Of The Board at British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA).
So Joe are you looking to repair this sales and marketing strategy and approach or link them to a distributor?
I think you are quite right, many are quite probably on shaky ground, and they need the marketing strategy to be sound before venturing forth looking for a partner or if (when?) it all goes wrong it’s not just the supplier that suffers.

John Stengrevics
Vice President, International Sales at Neuronix
When selling a product to a broad range of customers, for example, the physician office, the only way to succeed is to have an arrangement whereby the distributor is paid a commission (in perpetuity if there are follow-on consumable sales) when the company’s own reps close a sale. The distributor is essentially being paid to be a generator of solid leads in the course of their daily interaction with physician customers. There is simply no way around not having one’s own product knowledgeable reps.

John Stengrevics

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Thanks for these comments. I had a feeling this would be a vibrant discussion.

Darren, I do see an opportunity for members though. Many of the manufacturers on that long list seem, at a glance, on shaky footing from a strategic and marketing standpoint.

At the same time, I’m confident the group has many underutilized strategy and marketing experts like Perry who could help them. I would be willing to invest some of my own resources figuring out how to effectively pair them. But how?

For one family, paid work. For another, a go-to-market strategy that works.

That *is* something I would be willing to “stake my reputation” on!

Jerry Robinson
Consulting Designer: mHealth, IoT, Embedded Products, Wireless Commun, Consumer, and Disruptive Innovation Tech.
Joe…

You absolutely hit the nail on head with this topic..

It’s the critical topic that EVERY new company and every new manufactured device faces… It is not an easy one to answer – and traditional answers may not be enough…

Some solutions are “out of the traditional box” marketing.. out of the box traditional funding… and such…

Selling in traditional channels involves ALREADY having established sales – and tremendous capital resources. You buy your way into the sales stream, in other words…

As someone who looks at start-ups and startup issues, I think part of the answer may be in relying in more direct sales and “on hand funding’… you see this even on TV adds where “just call and you may be qualified” type solutions. You may not like the products – but then again the solution type might work… There are a lot of these solution types..

Setting up a direct relationship with insurers or hospital groups – ie, bypass the middleman – (because you HAVE too)…

Selling international – and taking advantage of ex-im financing….

there are a lot of alternate solutions…

******************

By every means, consider alternate methods of product startup – and startup finance…

Rules change about public financing this next year.. . that is a possibiltiy…

Consider Crowd Funding… (have you??)

Consider Amazon/Newegg/and other internet solutions…

Consider other countries health network chains.. Canada, UK, France… etc, etc. etc….

******************

TOO MANY great ideas get hung up on the traditional sales marketing channels and ideas. You can not rely solely on traditional schemes – and this matters a lot…

There was a GREAT product that diabetics could use – some while ago. Company crashed because they could not close this gap… I think everyone really had a loss from this crash…

Great ideas need to find a way to market – often by going around traditional sales solutions…

–jr

Tsafrir Grinberg
VP at VNT Software Ltd.
Thank you Joe so much for bringing up the issue at the HIDA (Health Industry Distributor’s Association) annual conference, and many thanks for sharing their reply.
All the reasons are understood and make perfect sense.
….I still want to sell our products which are well sold in Israel & Europe. There must be a way to penetrate the North American market, especially with high quality, patented components like the one we offer which are used in many devices.
Will appreciate any suggestion and assistance.

Good luck!

Michael Gorman
Product Specialists.
Response to the three things required for a distributor to pick up a line.
1. I absolutely agree that the product needs to be noteworthy. Personally I don’t see how anyone could present a product to a surgeon simply on the basis it is a “me to” product. It must be unique, solve an existing problem, or have some feature that makes it superior to everything else on the market.
2. The company presenting the device must have a solid marketing scheme and support for the sales force. Any device manufacturer should consider their sales force their #1 customer. The second part of this is where there is a distinction in my beliefs. The sales force must be able to not only discuss all aspects of the device with the surgeon, but also be able to provide expertise in the OR when things go south. It happens. If all you know is, “it’s shiny”, then that sales person provides absolutely no value to the surgeon when he and the patient need them most. They should not only know their product but also the philosophy behind it. If you don’t, then how can you compete?
3. Any device manufacturer should know full well that in order to get the sales force to take their device out of their bag it has to be profitable. Manufacturers not only compete with each other but also for the reps time. If they have “A” and “B” in their bag, “B” has a better commission, guess which one comes out first.

Darren Stenlake
Technical Director Sysmex UK Ltd & Chairman Of The Board at British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA).
Hi Joe
I have to say I think you walked right into this one!

I think the “sobering reply” is spot on, in an increasingly regulated market globally it’s vital that you carry the right products, furthermore ethically I’d like to think that the majority of distributors would choose to carry products with a proven record that deliver reliably what’s expected for the patient. Add to that the fact that none of these companies are charities, margin is a given and the robust scientific and marketing support are directly linked to the proven record and reliable delivery of results.

I think that the only thing you or the group can do for the members is offer the forum for sharing their information, but other than that I would not consider it the groups “responsibility” to help or to link distributor seekers with distributors. I would consider that a dangerous game, especially where unknown products are concerned. I’d be seriously concerned were it my reputation that was behind the connection.
I would suggest that this is the very reason meetings like Medica exist, to link suppliers with distributors on a global level and that being the go between for these parties however noble is a little ill considered.

Sorry but spades are spades and you’ve taken firm grasp of the handle of yours here and wacked a hornets nest!

Jim Krupp, CFPIM
Certified Business Mentor
Those who cannot directly penetrate the distribution chain, yet need to find an outlet for their product, might consider a strategic alliance with an established company/brand. Siuch a strategy provides an outlet with minimal investment, and capitalizes on respected brand names already in the market place. Companies like Philips are always looking to expand their product offering through acquisition or strategic alliance (the latter sometimes leading ultimately to acquisition). Of course, if one is looking to compete against one of the entrenched giants, this might not be the best option (LOL).

Federico Telmo
MBA | Marketing & Sales | Biotech Industry | Entrepreneurship
Dear Joe,

You are absolutely right! There is a huge need for distribution, and there’s also the problem that usually manufacturers have trouble getting along with distributors and many times this ends in bad relationships and worse business performances.

This is why we created Micalay Healthcare Solutions. We are an information and consulting company focused on helping manufacturers access or improve their performance in the growing Latin American market.

We not only help the manufacturers get local distributors, but also help them manage this relationship.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have!

I also invite everyone to check out our site and blog at [http://www.micalay.com|leo://plh/http%3A*3*3www%2Emicalay%2Ecom/BA84?_t=tracking_disc]

Regards and happy thanksgiving!

Federico Telmo

Richard Brautigam
Business Development
Early stage med device will always have a bi-polar relationship with independent reps/distributors. The reps want repeat revenue and will rarely have the patience to “pioneer” a break through device in to a hospital. It takes an average of 3-6 months from the submission of the value analysis docs to trial and first orders. They will need to be coached and nurtured to get to a close.

The device company, for their part, wants a clean relationship with the hospital for follow on product sales and reps that perform with minimal supervision. What I have seen on this forum are a lot of off shored “me too” products. If you are asking here for help on a truely breakthrough device, it probably isn’t a break through.

Synthia Laura Molina
Value Strategist, Content Producer, & Earnings Driver for Healthcare, Education, & Social Services CxOs
This is a great question for Jim Dausch, CEO of NCI Consulting Group (www.nci-cg.com) and Patrick Michael Plummer, CEO of Healthcare Supply Chain (www.HealthcareSupplyChain.com). Both are affiliated with the organizers of the IDN Summit and Reverse Expo (www.IDNSummit.com). In my view, the three organizations in combination have the knowledge, know-who, and know-who to get legitimate medical device companies to the results they want and need.